Eyes that can see a soul
by Takeshi Hou
Summary: When a mysterious boy shows up to take the chuunin exam, and is permitted to under the Hokage, questions hover around the real purpose of this mysterious boy...
1. Mystery in Shadow

A note from Takeshi to...well...you!  
  
Well, I got disguisted with myself over the Sharingan...so I might discontinue it. Anyways,  
  
here's my (much better in my opinion) next fanfic.  
  
Sadly, I do not own Naruto, *tears* but I would like to! ^^  
  
"Speech"  
  
*Thought*  
  
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The walls were covered in blood, bodies everywhere. If you had walked into the scene you  
  
wouldn't have even made it to the house without vomiting unless you had smelt massacre before.  
  
Even the pathway was littered with bodies. The once prosperous clan, a large family, was  
  
destroyed. They didn't all have it, the source of fear, the kekkei genkai, the  
  
Ketatamashii-Maboroshi. The piercing eye... that's what the name meant. It was a power in the  
  
eyes, evolved over time, much like the Sharingan, from the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan. This  
  
clan, they were the carriers of it. That's why they were feared, hated, despised, spat upon by the  
  
others. They were geniuses, and that set them apart enough to enable others to drop their  
  
humanity and kill them. However, it wasn't a mob that had killed this family, this clan, these  
  
victims of hatred, no...it was their own Kage. The Kage of the Hidden Blade Village had  
  
anhilliated his own followers...that's why the village dissapeared, the people turned on the leader,  
  
the one who had done what they had all desired to do. However, they had seen their sins and  
  
attempted to right their wrong. They attacked, and ensured the survival of one of them, one of  
  
that Clan...  
  
*Me...*was the thought that sprang into his mind. Wearing a hitai-ate headband with no symbol  
  
on it over his eyes, short red hair spiked up in the front, pants cut in half on his right leg, a  
  
shuriken holster there as well. An unbuttoned button shirt was on top of torso-covering chainmail  
  
shirt (much like Shikimaru's) The boy was in a forest, strewn upon the soft grass in this small  
  
open area, a miniature fire going. The fire was not for warmth, no, it was not for sight either, he  
  
could see. Luckily for the conscious of the villagers, the Ketatamashii-Maboroshi was strong in  
  
his blood, it had already surfaced. The fire was a symbol to whoever was looking that this boy  
  
was alive and well, for the boy had many enemies, most unwillingly made his enemies, and it  
  
was his small way of defying them subtly, but enough to infuriate them.  
  
The memory of that scene, the scene his world had been turned upside down, would forever  
  
remain in his heart and soul, etched with a blade covered in blood. His entire clan...demolished.  
  
Only his brother lived long enough to see the Ketatamashii-Maboroshi one last time...and  
  
congratulate the 4-year old child by giving him a headband of a village that no longer assisted,  
  
for the villagers dispersed and kept the secret to themselves, only a select few knew of the  
  
Hidden Blade Village...even less knew of it's demise...  
  
The small 'camp' which the boy had set up was meager, a tent, the small fire, and a small animal  
  
being roasted over the fire. The peaceful wind easily drifted through the leaves and brushed upon  
  
his face, slightly chilling him. However, the wind picked up through the forest, and a sudden  
  
darkness came upon the small camp the boy had set up. He shot up onto his feet, and retrieved  
  
two tonfas that were next to him. Jumping to his left, he went to kick someone who wasn't  
  
there...but was the next instant. The kick was barely blocked, but was followed up quickly by a  
  
punch. The figure threw the boy back, and resumed a guarding stance.  
  
"Who are you that intrudes into the Village of Hidden Leaf?" the man asked. He wore a  
  
flak-jacket and a leaf hitai-ate.  
  
"I look for the one called Copy-Ninja Kakashi of the Sharingan." the boy answered, smirking.  
  
The opponent he faced was well-trained, a Chuunin no doubt. The jump-suit and vest symbolized  
  
that. Any other village he would have thought it was a Jounin, but the Leaf Village he had  
  
learned not to underestimate.  
  
"You didn't answer my question." the man retorted  
  
"I can't trust just anyone with my identity...." the boy said, "Besides, you wouldn't believe me if  
  
I told you anyways..."  
  
"Just try me." the man said, his voice going lower and lower. Subtle movements from the man's  
  
torso and Chakara were suggesting a Jutsu was coming. The boy stayed silent, and the man  
  
smirked, his reply was a flurry of hand seals.  
  
*Focus...what's coming next..*  
  
"Wind Tunnel Jutsu " the man yelled, activating his jutsu. But the boy was gone  
  
"You're kind of slow for a Chuunin" the boy said, appearing behind the man. But he stopped  
  
there, his bladed tonfa an inch from the man's throat.. Another Leaf shinobi was behind him,  
  
kunai to his neck.  
  
"You're kind of dumb for a shinobi." the newly introduced ninja said, "If you know anything  
  
about this village you know how outsider's aren't allowed."  
  
"I know all about this village. And if you know anything about me, you'll know I possess this."  
  
the boy said, protruding a small necklace from his pocket, a gold chain with a Leaf symbol  
  
imprinted on a dark emerald on the end of it.  
  
"How did you....fine. But you're going straight to the Hokage." the second one said.  
  
The trip was short and brief, a half-an-hour walk between the two men. He had found out they  
  
were, in fact, Chuunin. When they reached the gates of the Leaf village they were promptly let in.  
  
They were walking towards the Hokage's house when he saw him.  
  
*Kakashi-sama...*  
  
Kakashi Hatake was right there, standing near the ramen bar, talking with another man. They  
  
didn't even meet eyes, but Kakashi definately noticed him.  
  
*So Kakashi's a Jounin now huh? Heh...* 


	2. Shadows Removed

A note from Takeshi to the readers:  
  
Konnichi wa everyone, sorry this chapter is so short. No action either. I'm sorry! But the next  
  
chapter you might get to see a fight between..well...read the next chapter! Thanks for reading,  
  
and please review!  
  
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"So...who're you?" a feminine voice asked from the shadows. The Fifth Hokage, Yondaime,  
  
Tsunade, one of the "Three Ninjas" taught under the Sandime, Sarutobi. He had heard only  
  
rumors that Tsunade had returned. However, she sat there in front of him, half of her body  
  
covered by the shadows in this one-window room. It was originally an interrogation room, it  
  
seemed, for the shackles on the wall were still there and there was a small, but present, odor of  
  
blood.  
  
"A friend of Sarutobi-sama and Kakashi-sama's." the boy said, "You've probably heard of the  
  
Hou clan..."  
  
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. This boy, could he really be who he said he was? The Hou clan was  
  
one of the Doujutsu kekkei genkai clans. However...it was slaughtered by the village's own Kage.  
  
The entire village went into a civil-war like state and dissapeared. The survivors told nothing.  
  
And this boy....  
  
"This is proof." the boy held up his real hitai-ate. It had a vertical line in the middle, then near  
  
the top two quarter circles and lines branching off those, looking abstractly like a sword with  
  
wings.  
  
"Gah!" Tsunade said in suprise, "Th-thats a...Hidden Blade headband...."  
  
That confirmed it. You can't just fake a hitai-ate, they are imbued with the soul of the village  
  
and in fact radiate some chakara, some people say that the symbols are the soul of the village and  
  
share the power. A sudden flashback of an old conversation with Jiraiya came to her...  
  
- ~*~ -  
  
"Have you heard?" he asked. Jiraiya and Tsunade were at the sake bar. He had his usual clothes  
  
on, his large pack dropped on the ground next to his school.  
  
"Of course not you idiot. I've been away for a while." Tsunade said back  
  
"I thought word of this would've spread pretty quickly." Jiraya's normally playful tone was  
  
dropped, a seirous tone was adopted, "A kid from the Hidden Blade Village turned up. Kakashi  
  
Hatake found him during one of his scouting missions."  
  
"...oh? Do tell..."  
  
"They say he's from that clan...with the kekkai genkai...what's it called?"  
  
"Ketatamashii-Maboroshi.." she replied, "Piercing eye..."  
  
"Yea..." Jiraiya took another sip, "And they say he can already use it...he's six years old..."  
  
"WHAT?!" Tsunade yelled  
  
"Yeah. That's what I said. Kakashi's full report stated: The boy used his technique, the  
  
Ketatamashii-Maboroshi to defeat the attacker of his family. The technique surfaced due to  
  
personal danger, so it's not completely formed. However, in the journey back, it formed  
  
extremely fast...'"  
  
"..." Tsunade was silent, "So the Hidden Blade still lives..."  
  
"It's up to one kid to keep it alive..." Jiraya said, "...but there's got to be millions of bounties on  
  
his head, let alone for his kekkei genkai..."  
  
- ~*~ -  
  
"Takeshi Hou...." Tsunade whispered to herself, "No shit..."  
  
"In the flesh" Takeshi replied, "Can I see Kakashi-sama now?"  
  
"Kakashi....sure. He and his team are training, they'll be out in the field, it-"  
  
"I know where the field is. Mind if I wear this?" Takeshi held up his forhead protector   
  
"Nope." Tsunade said, "Change it."  
  
"Hai, Hokage-sama. Thank you for letting me stay." Takeshi used a simple Genjutsu and made  
  
the Leaf symbol appear, put it over his eyes, and walked out of the door.  
  
"Takeshi! Wait!" Tsunade yelled, "Why are you here?"  
  
"I would like to take the Chuunin Exam." Takeshi said, "I have teammates coming within two  
  
days...but of course...I require your approval. The other two are...along with me...the last  
  
survivors of my village, so there is no Kage to allow it. The Hokage of the Leaf is my guardian,  
  
along as my Jounin instructor. This says so." Takeshi brought out the necklace again  
  
Tsunade smiled, "Alright. Pick up your applications three days from now." Takeshi waved and  
  
left  
  
"This year's exams is going to be interesting..." Tsunade said to herself, chuckling slightly 


	3. A Friend with an Enemy's Mask

A note from Takeshi Hou to readers:  
  
Alright...I lied. No action. . I'm sorry! Gomen Nasai! Seriously, there is some large action in the next chapter. I'll update the next chapter fairly soon so I don't get beat up by anyone who reads this and demands action, because I know myself what it's like to read 3 chapters in a row without action and then wait _forEVER_ for the action-filled one. So, just read this and Review, the next one will probably be up next Monday  
  
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"Where's Kakashi-sensai?!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke and Sakura were in the field as well, waiting as usual, "It's been almost three hours! HE SHOULD BE HERE BY NOW!"  
  
"We should just get used to it." Sakura said, "I don't think he's ever been on time..."  
  
*LET'S KICK HIS ASS!* Inner Sakura exclaimed, throwing a some powerful punches into the air,*TAKE HIM DOWN! HELL YEAH!  
  
"He's so immature." Sasuke said *just like Naruto...*  
  
"Yeah...unlike you Sasuke-kun..." Sakura said dreamily, and then realized she said it aloud  
  
"Hey, do you three know where Kakashi-sama is?" a voice asked. A boy was in the middle of all three of them.  
  
"-sama?" Sakura repeated, a little confused as to why someone would give Kakashi that suffix...  
  
*This guy...how'd he get in the middle of us?...* Sasuke thought *I didn't even notice him...and by the looks of it neither Sakura or Naruto did either...*  
  
"Who're you?!" Naruto yelled, but then something else demanded his attention  
  
"Good morning everybody!" a voice called. Kakashi stood on the edge of the field, his happy tone innocent and naive. "How are you this morning?"  
  
"YOU'RE LATE!" all four of them yelled at the same time, but then Team 7 looked at Takeshi, confused as to why he joined the chorus of frustration and anger. Takeshi just smiled  
  
"...Who're you...?" Kakashi asked. His eye narrowed, and Takeshi could only guess his Sharingan eye did as well.   
  
"A challenger." Takeshi knew very well Kakashi might know who he is..but he was confident his Genjutsu was enough to fool Kakashi until he activated his Sharingan..that was...if he activated his Sharingan. "Care to fight?"  
  
"I have another commitment..." Kakashi said uneasily. Sakura and Naruto both were a little scared by Kakashi's tone, but Sasuke just kept glaring at Takeshi, trying to measure him up  
  
"I'm sure you can postpone it for at least 10 minutes..." Takeshi said, "It seems you were around 2 hours behind anyways..." Takeshi smiled  
  
"Hey...Hey! HEY! Who are you?!" Naruto yelled, "You can't just barge in and demand to fight Kakashi! I'll defeat you and be acknowledged by everyone!"  
  
"Naruto, shut up." Sasuke said, "I wouldn't interfere."  
  
Naruto shut up promptly. Sasuke's voice was shaken. Only twice before had Sasuke's voice been so shaky...when they were fighting Zabuza and Orochimaru in the forest. Naruto's fist clenched and moved to his kunai.  
  
"...fine..." Kakashi said, "but only 10 minutes..."  
  
"That's all it'll take..." Takeshi said, pulling out his bladed tonfas. He had purchased them off a man back in the Hidden Sand village. The blacksmith was on the run from many gangs, and Takeshi had promised to protect him for a week if the man would craft him some tonfas that he would design himself, and so it was done.  
  
"Tonfas...." Sasuke murmuered, "I've never seen a shinobi use tonfas as their main weapon..."  
  
*This guy..* Sasuke thought *His outfit, his aura...his chakara...everything seems so...powerful...and different...*  
  
"Ready.....steady..." Takeshi said. Eye contact was established between the two, Kakashi and Takeshi, and for the slightest second Takeshi thought that Kakashi might have recognized him...but the feeling faded. However...the presence of the Sharingan was definitely still there... "...GO!" 


	4. The Strength to Fight

A note from Takeshi Hou to readers  
  
Alright, to make up for the TOTAL lack in any sort of action I snuck onto the internet (I'm not allowed to on weekends because my mom's a jerk .) to give you the chapter with the cool fight scene...well at least...I think it's cool. Anyways, I present to you: Chapter 4, The Strength to Fight!  
  
Review Please!  
  
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Takeshi jumped back as Kakashi attacked with kunais, who had thrown two at Takeshi. Skidding along the ground and jumping towards Kakashi, Takeshi sliced in a vertical slash with his tonfas. Kakashi used Kawarimi at the last second and appeared behind Takeshi, hitting him in the back. The figure disapeared, a Shadow Clone.  
  
"You'll have to actually fight me, or you'll die Kakashi-sama..." Takeshi said  
  
"Wha?!" Kakashi spun around just in time to block Takeshi's tonfas slicing in a horizontal sweep. The two were in a deadlock as they stood there, perring into each other's soul through their eyes. Takeshi's eyes were enough to tell Kakashi that the boy wasn't kidding. He would have to actually fight...or die...  
  
Takeshi spun to the side and skidded, punching the ground at a soft spot. Dust went everywhere. Kakashi jumped towards Takeshi's last position, but hit nothing. He stood still for a moment, and then spun around, blocking a kick. The two went into an unseen flurry of taijutsu, each throwing almost everything they had. After the dust settled, so did the combatants.  
  
"Sasuke-kun....what's wrong?" Sakura asked. Sasuke's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. He had used Sharingan to see through the dust and had seen all of the insanely-fast taijutsu that had been performed.  
  
"He-" Sasuke was cut off when Takeshi spoke to Kakashi  
  
"Pretty good...." Takeshi said, "But it'll be hard without your Sharingan..."  
  
"I don't use Sharingan in practice matches..." Kakashi said, "Or against children, for that matter."  
  
*How does he know about my Sharingan in the first place?!* Kakashi thought to himself, obviously shaken*This kid...how does he know so much...what can he see?*  
  
"Fine then." Takeshi performed a few hand seals and then brought his hand to his head protector  
  
Byakugan?! The thought shot into Kakashi's mind as he prepared for the worst. Although he didn't want to admit it, this child wasn't too far from his own strength.  
  
"You know Kakashi, it's been a long time...do you remember the..." he lifted his head protector, "Ketatamashii-Maboroshi?!"  
  
Kakashi dropped his kunai. The boy's eyes showed no pupils, they were totally enveloped by the iris. However, the iris wasn't just one color, it was a swirling silver and blue, always moving.  
  
"Ke...ketatamashii...Maboroshi?!" Kakashi demanded, "Can it be...?"  
  
"Find out for yourself Kakashi-sama..." Takeshi said.  
  
"Kage Bushin!" About four or five Kakashi's appeared and jumped at Takeshi  
  
"Kage Bushin." Takeshi said, and three Takeshi's appeared  
  
The clones engaged each other, disapearing in a puff of smoke each time. Kakashi and Takeshi jumped from each other again. Takeshi pulled out some shuriken and fired them at Kakashi, who vanished. Takeshi reappeared and punched the air, but made contact with Kakashi's face a split second later.  
  
However, Takeshi was exausted. The Ketatamashii-Maboroshi was passive, and always 30% active. When he increased it to 60% active, and combined with Kage Bushin, he was low on Chakara. And, the Genjutsu surrounded his headband was also a very large factor, in fact, the largest, sapping over « of his chakara so Kakashi wouldn't see it until Takeshi wanted him to.  
  
After around another minute of fighting, Takeshi admitted defeat in his own mind and let the genjutsu go.  
  
"It can't be-!" Kakashi said, "...Takeshi?"  
  
"Heh. Always quick in the eye." Takeshi said, smirking, "I'm glad I found you Kakashi-sama...It's been a long time..."  
  
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Naruto yelled  
  
"Takeshi Hou..." Kakashi said, "You're alive huh?"  
  
"Yeah." Takeshi walked slowly up to Kakashi, "I've missed you Kakashi-sama..."  
  
"WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Naruto yelled again  
  
"Team 7, meet Takeshi Hou...he's...erm"  
  
"A former student." Takeshi put in, "I was taught under Kakashi when I was very young."  
  
"Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke said, walking up to Takeshi, "How did you do all of that?"  
  
Takeshi was a little startled. He had heard of the Uchiha tragedy...this boy...was a prodigy...and was the sole survivor...except for Itachi of course...  
  
"Haruno Sakura." Sakura said. Takeshi smiled, she was pretty cute. However, it seemed that Naruto was drooling over her unless he was yelling at someone.  
  
"Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto yelled, but Sakura noticed he didn't have it I won't lose to you or the I'm the next Hokage! traditional greeting this time. In fact, Sakura was pretty scared herself if he could hold his own with Kakashi-sensai  
  
"What rank are you, Genin, chuunin, Jounin?" Sasuke asked promptly  
  
"Officially, I'm not even a Genin." Takeshi said, "But I consider myself one because of this headband." Takeshi motioned to it. The Leaf symbol was gone, replaced by the Hidden Blade village.  
  
"What the-?!" Sakura yelled, "I-...I didn't even see the Genjutsu..."  
  
"Where are you from?! What's that symbol?!" Naruto yelled, prancing around like a confused fool, which was rather accurate  
  
"I'll explain later." Kakashi said, "Takeshi, I'm glad you're here...but my group has training to do-"  
  
"For the Chuunin exam?" Takeshi put in, Kakashi nodded "That's why I'm here. And, I promised it wouldn't take longer than ten minutes right? It's been seven." With that, Takeshi vanished into smoke.  
  
"Takeshi Hou huh..." Sasuke said, "the Chuunin exams are always sound so fun..."  
  
"HELL YEAH!" Naruto yelled,   
  
"Sensai..." Sakura started to ask  
  
"Like I said, I'll explain later." Kakashi said, "But since he's going to be in the Chuunin exam...you might be facing him, so are we ready to train or what?!"  
  
Takeshi smiled, Kakashi sure had a way to inspire people with sheer talent to train. However, that Naruto boy....his Chakara was normal...but he seemed to have another reserve of Chakra in him, but it was being supressed. And that Uchiha boy...  
  
Are Chuunin exams always this fun? 


	5. A Union of Friends

A note from Takeshi Hou to his readers:  
  
I'm REALLY sorry about not having posted in a while, I've been here and there and then back again, if you can believe it. Another intro chapter, i'm sorry . There'll be some action soon though. Read and Reveiw plz!  
  
~*~  
  
It was two days later, and Takeshi was sitting on the shabby roof of his hotel. The sun had just come up, the shadows were receding from the forest around the city. The peace was short lived as two feet landed right behind him.  
  
"Ohayoo Youkoko-san." Takeshi said, as a girl walked up to him. She wore a traditional shirt, made of fine silk, bladk dragons and silver lines emblazoned on it, she also wore a rather skimpy skirt, but no one told her that. Her hairr was a pitch black color, and her eyes were sapphire blue. Her body was overall quite proportionate, even though she was a little small.  
  
"Ohayoo Takeshi-kun." She replied in her dark tone, "Has Mitano arrived yet?"  
  
"No." Takeshi said, "He won't be here for another minute or two."  
  
"Hmm...he's always late." Youkoko said, and she spat. Takeshi smiled, that was Youkoko's way of saying she felt comfortable. He didn't even ask why, it was just her way.  
  
"You know, there are some pretty strong Genins in this tournament. I met Kakashi-sama's team...and all three of them are quite powerful. One is from the Uchiha clan, another...well...he's got insane stamina."  
  
"No girls?" Youkoko retorted. She was quite sexist against all-male teams. Her personality was a fiery one, never to admit defeat, rarely showing fear, and always being individual. However, that was with boys, with girls her personality was quite soft in comparison.  
  
"Oh no, one of them's a girl. Although not quite as developed in her powers, she has excellent Chakara control and quite a sense for Genjutsu and knows quite a lot about the Ninja Arts in general."  
  
"How'd you find all this out?" Youkoko asked, arching her eyebrows  
  
"I have my ways.." Takeshi said, smiling, "Here's Mitano."  
  
A figure was jumping from ceiling to ceiling, and finally reached them. He was a bit different than both of them. First of all, he was easily the tallest. He towered over Takeshi by at least three inches, and over Youkoko by at least six. Mitano Korai was his full name. He wore his Hidden Blade hitai-ate and the entire mask. His eyes were blank, and quite small. His figure was rather scrawny, as though he'd grown three feet in one day and hadn't built up any muscle. He wore two katanas on his back, kept on his body by Chakara, or so Takeshi guessed, because there was no string or band holding them on.  
  
::Hello Takeshi-san, Youkoko-san:: Mitano said. It was rather odd, Mitano only talked through telepathy. Youkoko and Takeshi didn't question it, both of them had their quirks. Together, they looked pretty sketchy, like a couple of gang members or bums. But in truth, they were the prodigies of the Hidden Blade Village survivors. Their own agenda on their minds formed by one ideal that Takeshi had started.  
  
"Our Jounin will be Tsunade-sama, the Kage of this village, herself." Takeshi informed them. They both nodded, "Meet here tomorrow, same time same place. 'Kay?" they nodded again, "Well, you can do whatever you want for the rest of the day I guess. Here are your hotel keys, the rooms are on them. See you tomorrow." Youkoko and Mitano vanished, and Takeshi was left to himself, witnessing the rising of the sun once more...  
  
Takeshi was walking through the busy streets of Konoha once more, trying to find out what had changed in his absence. Or, more like last visit. His last time here had not been sad nor happy, but angry, the color of blood.  
  
~*~  
  
He had run away from the other villagers. They all wanted to kill him, keep this a secret, but he couldn't let it happen. The Kage and his men, the traitors to the Hou clan, they were killed. In fact, the Kage's second-in-command had made the grave mistake of underestimating the heir to the Hou clan. And paid for it with his life.  
  
By the age of 4 Takeshi had killed someone, his innocense and naivete were washed away by blood, and he was forced to see a cruel world. Alone he had cried, and alone he had wandered, getting by on small forest animals. However, at the age of 6, he returned to his village's ruins by accident, to see a team of shinobi's there. He had hid, and grabbed his kunai, encrusted with blood from his prey in the forest.  
  
The nearest shinobi was walking towards him, and then turned his back. Takeshi used that opportunity. He had thought them the Kage's men. He would have never imagined that they were just a group of scouting ninjas. Jumping onto that one shinobi's back, he grabbed him and prepared to drive the kunai into the back of the ninja's head. The shinobi he had grabbed would have never guessed he was a child, and threw him off, holding a kunai to his throat.  
  
"Who are you...?" Takeshi had asked, not even crying. He had seen death before, looked at that Hidden Blade ANBU member in the face when the mask had slid off and the wooden tonfa's blunt end had impaled it into his eyes. He was not afraid of this man, whose eyes did not hold killer intent...  
  
"..." the man did not answer, but then called out to his team. The four were from another shinobi village, and the one he had almost killed walked stood up and put his kunai away   
  
"Hey, kid, what happened here?" one of them asked  
  
"It was turned upon by it's own Kage and his men," Takeshi had replied coldly, "I think I'm the last survivor."  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
Takeshi didn't say anything, he just kept looking at the covered left eye of one of the ninjas.  
  
"Listen kid we don't have time for this!" another yelled  
  
"Kinda like the Uchiha clan huh?" the first had said, promptly shutting up the other ones "That's pretty rough kid...but I need to know your name."  
  
"...Takeshi Hou." He had finally said, giving into the man's relaxed manner. However, the man's eyes widened slightly.  
  
"Hatake Kakashi." Kakashi had replied. He had been a Chuunin. Takeshi realized it was a show of trust between the two, and he followed Kakashi back to his home village.  
  
Takeshi didn't complain. In fact, he was extremely happy. A man wanted him to come, a man wanted him, for whatever reasons. He had found a home with this man. He traveled back to the shinobi village of the Leaf and there, for the next year, had trained under Kakashi. Kakashi didn't cut any slack, for one reason or another. However, at the day he turned six, the Hokage had come to him.  
  
"Takeshi Hou...you can no longer stay in this village." He had said sadly, "Even though your village and ours were on good terms, I cannot allow you to stay here by law of this village. However...take this..." the Hokage held out a necklace, "And my name, Sarutobi. For if you ever come back here, say my name and present this necklace."  
  
And then Takeshi left under the cover of night, escorted by Kakashi. When they reached the outskirts of the country, they had to part.  
  
"Sayoonara....Kakashi-se...Kakashi-sama..." Takeshi had said. His boyish voice was now replaced by a stern one of confidence.  
  
"Sayoonara...Takeshi-kun..." And Kakashi had vanished. And so did he, into the night...  
  
~*~  
  
And here he stood, 10 years later. The streets were just as busy, the people were just as loud, or quiet...but something was different. Something must have happened....something enough to make everyone nervous. It wasn't too hard to see, you didn't need to have Doujutsu or incredible perception. Although people yelled and bartered, they did it quickly. Although people talked, they talked a little quieter, and although people stared at the sky they also checked their surroundings.  
  
*What could have happened here to have changed it so much?* Takeshi pondered, *Whatever happened....it wasn't for the better...* 


End file.
